Healthy Dose of Change... I Hope

Good Reader, you may have noticed some changes around the old blog lately, namely, a striking absence of me. This reflects some of the changes in my personal life, with more to come. I do plan to get back to the blog in a more consistent way, but then, Napoleon planned to win at Waterloo.

My purpose today is to reprint the first three paragraphs of an AP story penned by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar:

WASHINGTON – When Democrats passed President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, they used Medicare cuts to pay much of the cost of providing insurance to millions of uninsured.

Now, lawmakers scrambling to stave off a scheduled 25 percent cut in doctors' Medicare pay on Jan. 1 plan to reverse the flow. They're tapping financing for the health care overhaul to keep Medicare from breaking down.

The $19 billion will help pay doctors at current rates for another year. It will come mostly from tightening the rules on tax credits in the health care law that make premiums more affordable, according to an agreement reached Tuesday by Senate leaders of both parties.

Sooooooo... let me just see if I have this right. In order for Barack Obama to get his Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed, he had to cut Medicare. But hey, more Americans would have affordable health insurance as a result, right? Problem solved. But now doctors aren't going to get paid by Medicare, which will mean there won't be enough doctors left (funny how nobody likes to work for free). No problem, we'll pay them with the money we were going to shave off of insurance premiums to make them more affordable. Problem solved!

I could go on, but I predicted all of this back in March.

EXTREME MAKEOVER!

You may have read about issues surrounding EXTREME MAKEOVER: Health Edition during the past few months... uh, I mean, Home Edition. It seems there has been an epidemic of foreclosures involving the innocent families that ABC has disrupted by forcing them to abandon their homes and move into larger, better lifestyle-suited structures at the same location. While ABC generally begins every episode with some bogus sob story about a veteran who has lost several limbs, or an elderly couple who adopt fifteen unwanted crack babies, the AP has been following those who truly deserve our sympathy, such as contest winner Dr. Brian Wofford, who may now lose his Encinitas, California home.

"A lot of people think when you get the house you get the mortgage. Well, you don't," complained Wofford. You see, when the mortgage crisis that hit all of us also affected him, he failed to get a loan modification after "providing documents, and providing documents again and again and again," according to his attorney, Mike Curran.

Then there was the case of Milton and Patricia Harper of Atlanta. They used their home as collateral for a $450,000 loan to start a construction business. When the business failed they couldn't afford to pay the mortgage because of the money they owed to "credit card companies, pawn shops and a cell phone company, and outstanding garbage bills with the city." They were saved by filing for bankruptcy.

There were others, like Sadie Holmes, a former drug addict turned social worker who nearly lost her home after racking up $30,000 in fines due to code violations. Damn ABC! And the list goes on and on and on.

You see, when ABC comes in and rebuilds or remodels one of these homes, they don't step up to the plate and do the right thing by paying off the original mortgage. Imagine you were making payments on a Chevy Malibu you picked out and purchased and Howard Stern came up and had professionals convert it into a Rolls Royce, but then made you go ahead and keep paying for it like it was the Malibu you initially bought. That's bad enough, but what if he also didn't pay for the extra gas that the Rolls used? You'd go out of your now Grey Poupon-eating mind! Well, that's what ABC has done.

Does ABC not know that gifts are seldom regarded as sacredly as that which is earned? Shouldn't they have considered that people who are in financial trouble will likely get into more financial trouble when provided the vehicle to do so? Didn't they realize that financial and housing market fluctuations affect everyone, no matter how they acquired their housing? Couldn't they have at least been responsible enough to tell their contest winners these things?

Well, fear not: this won't happen again in the near future. ABC is scaling back. The options lists on the Extreme Makeover homes won't include swimming pools, saunas, and tennis courts in the future. No, the extra amenities will be more along the lines of Chinese wallboard, indoor plumbing, and walls. Back to the basics to keep the winners safe from themselves.

Although references abound to families facing foreclosure, I can find reference to only one that has supposedly gone through foreclosure. That's less than 1% of the Extreme Makeover homes. Who pays the price for those mistakes? Future "winners." I hate to see anyone lose their home, but now thanks to the less than 1% of free extreme makeover recipients who can not handle their own finances, any future winners will see much less extreme in their coming makeovers.

That's a formula to think about the next time you find yourself waiting in an Obamacare Emergency Room.

HELTHКAЯE ЯEFORM: The End?

Boy, has the new Health Care Reform Bill that the Democrats passed caused a stir or what? You'd think most of the population is against this thing. Aside from states filing suit against the new Nationalized Health Care System, there have been reports of broken windows, telephoned threats, gas lines severed... even photos of politicians and their children being run in newspapers. Some bloggers have gone so far as to publicly suggest that Washington - and the National "If Canadians like it, it must be Great" Democratic Party in particular - has lost touch with this country.

Now, a rational individual might expect a reaction like this, given the heated debate that has gone on for over a year, the poll results that have leaned consistently to the negative, statements from the President and Congress assuring the citizenry that it really doesn't matter what they think - the Democrats will pass Health Care Reform regardless, and the manner in which it was passed. But we aren't dealing with rational beings: we are dealing with Democrats. These are people who have no concept of how things get accomplished. Their idea is that if you want it bad enough - if you merely wish it... nay, demand it in the name of good intentions, it will just magically happen, be it war, internet access, or medical care. There is no such concept as Cause and Effect in the Democrat's world. This is how the party of slavery, Jim Crow Laws, and segregation has managed to sell itself as 'the party of the people.'

What really makes me sick is the cowardly reaction of these spineless bureaucrats. Ah, you thought perhaps I'd call out some of these folks who have suggested violence is the only answer. No. Now, I'm not advocating violence by any means, but we'll get back to that in just a bit. I have watched a regular rotation of politicians crying on the tube about how they don't feel safe after railroading legislation over the American people. What exactly did you expect after - in the words of your vice-President - you charted "a fundamentally different course for the country"?

[Let me interrupt myself here to state that little gem is difficult to track down. When one searches for a health care victory speech from the New Uncle Joe (FDR fans take note), there are 80 billion returns referencing the "This is a big f***ing deal" remark. Who cares? We know these are people of low moral standards and class. What was missed, ignored, or deemed uninteresting was this, in part:

History -- history is made when you all assembled here today, members of Congress, take charge to change the lives of tens of millions of Americans. Through the efforts of those of us lucky enough to serve here in this town, that's exactly what you've done. You have made history.

History is made when a leader steps up, stays true to his values and charts a fundamentally different course for the country. History is made when a leader's passion -- passion -- is matched with principle, to set a new course.

You can watch it all here.]

These people who know far better what you and I need than we ourselves do have charted a fundamentally new course for this country. Regardless of whether you approve of it or not, they have. They have stepped forward and acted on something they truly believe in. Well, maybe not truly - after all, they are exempt from participation unless Chuck Grassley has his way- but they feel pretty darned strongly about it. Two-hundred and thirty-four years ago members of the Continental Congress charted a fundamentally different course for this country by repudiating their government. This week our government repudiated us, and they were so sure of our subjugation that they are genuinely shocked by the reaction. It's as a shepherd crying out in surprise as the flock tries to run from the slaughter house. "But I want them to move forward!"

Doesn't that sting a little? I'm sure you've gotten an email detailing the horrible demise of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Whether those stories are true or not, these men did risk it all and plunged the colonies deeper down the course to freedom, and led a bunch of ignorant dirt farmers and tavern owners to fight the concept of the divine right of kings. Today, our representatives to our government are so sure of their unmitigated right to decide for us that they can not believe we would protest through civil disobedience, and haven't the backbone to stand up and take it. The character of this country - of the Western Man - is dead.

I say that it is dead because this health care bill will stay in place. I know there is a lot going on right now. There are arguments on the Hill, promises that a new majority party will repeal it, lawsuits in multiple states, individuals refusing to comply... and I love all of it! I truly do. But I also know how it will end. Read back over my other HELTHКAЯE ЯEFORM pieces. I've called it all along, not because I'm so damn smart (which I am), but because people are so damn predictable. I don't like it, I just know it.

Here's how they'll keep it in place:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act won't cost you a dime - I already stated this way back in Part 4, but you need to hear it again. The fact is that the tangible costs are going to directly hit your employer, medical facilities and personnel, "rich" folks, and your insurance company. All of these costs, of course, will be passed down to you, but you won't really care about or even notice it... because you never do. When did you quit bitching about the "fees" (read: non-voted taxes) on your phone bill, for instance? Many of the provisions of this bill don't take affect until 2013 or 14. That is not so they have time to repeal or repair it. It is to give time for the anger to wear off so that by the time the tangible costs start trickling down on us, we will merely be shouting "Fix our nationalized health care system!"

Your insurance company was killing you - Have you noticed a recent jump in your insurance premiums? I know I have felt it. Most insurance companies really popped up prices over the last year. This was in part a continuation of the trend established by the congressional protection of malpractice attorneys in filing bogus suits, but it was also because insurance companies deal in money and understand what mandatory insurance coverage will require. With more non-workers being covered and sick people encouraged to seek "free" treatment, those paying the bills will have to pay more. It's as simple as that. So these prices have been driven up by the very system that calls itself the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Social Security is in trouble and needs to be replaced - This is old news... very old news. Anyone with a smattering of mathematical ability has known for years that Social Security is doomed. Congress has known it because they've been illegally "borrowing" from it for years. They even forced the railroads to help fund it. I covered the fact that the government intends to do away with it in detail in Part 5 and Part 7. But now you will hear about Social Security's problems more and more in the news. Because of some new discovery in demographics? Because of some outbreak of a premature aging virus? Because of a downward trend in new births? No. It's so you will embrace the new nationalized health care system. Articles just the other day revealed $1 million is not enough to retire on for the X-Generation because Social Security won't be there. Hey, my third grade teacher told me that 30 years ago! We've known it, but now congress can use that fact to scare us into supporting nationalized health care.

We fixed it and made it good - I firmly believe Democrats will be swept from congressional power in November. I think this legislation will have something to do with it, though there is a modern trend in this country for the voting public to split the White House and congress by party. That's a good thing no matter who is in the Oval Office. But make no mistake about it: the Republican Party will not repeal this legislation. Instead, they will tweak it just enough to call it their own and tell us all that they fixed it for us. Government programs are never eliminated (hell, look at the V-22 Osprey): they are merely re-politicized. Look at T.A.R.P. and the bailout. Oh, I remember who was there when it all started, and I remember that Republicans didn't put in place any oversight or accountability. But as soon as Obama was elected they started blaming everything on the Democrats. Don't get me wrong: the worthless Democrats did just about everything wrong that they possibly could... but the Republicans weren't innocent. You wouldn't know it from their crowing, though. The PPAC Act will be used the same way, just you watch.

You must respect the law - Check out this article. I want you to note this quote in particular:

"I am surprised by the mobilization of the states. It does strike me as a kind of civil disobedience, a declaration that we're not going to follow the law of the land," said Mark Hall, a professor of law and public health at Wake Forest University.

"It doesn't make sense. The federal Constitution couldn't be any clearer that federal law is supreme," Hall added.

I wrote to professor Hall and asked him to clarify the quote:

Were you misquoted? Taken out of context? I'm not asking about your opinion on the health care issue, but doesn't civil disobedience, by definition, fly in the face of federal law in this case? These actions (by the states) are challenges to proposed federal law. You are - it seems from the quote - prescribing that the solution to the problem is to follow the problem. This is not logical.

I ask this because you are presumably educating our children. It would seem from this presentation of your views that your are teaching them policy rather than how to think.

Not surprisingly, he did not respond. But this outlines the attitude of the mindless liberal: I wish it to be, therefore it is, and you have no right to argue against it. These people have been in charge of education for decades, instilling this principle into our children. Your government knows what is best for you; therefore, you should not question it. If you disagree with your government, you should work harder at figuring out why you are wrong... or better yet, sit back and accept it.

But this time is different, you say. Believe me, I would like nothing more than to be proven wrong on this. Those of you who know me personally know that that is as unlikely a statement as will ever come out of me, but it's true. I would love to be wrong on this.

But I'm not.

THE JOE WILSON SHOW

It's time for another episode of The Joe Wilson Show tonight, and you've got a sneak preview exclusively here on edwardgroberts.blogspot.com, so tell all of your friends. You can catch the live broadcast tonight at 9:00 PM EST on the channel that would otherwise be broadcasting something worth a squat. Without further ado, here it is:

BILL LIVINGOOD: Madam Speaker… the President of the United States.

(applause)

BARACK OBAMA: Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the First Lady of the United States:

One year ago we started down a new pa- oh, and my fellow Amuslicans. One year ago we started down a new path: one of hope and of change. We have come a long way, the light is at the end of the tunnel, yes we can, we will win.

(short applause from Pelosi and Biden)

Thank you. Thank you. Today some are suggesting that our efforts are not working, but I want to be perfectly clear – they are.

Unemployment may be up, but hope is high. This administration’s approval ratings may be low right now, but so are copper prices. What does all this mean? It means our economy has never looked better. And with me in the White House the hope is going to change all of this into a more stable and viable national agenda capitalizing on helping Americans and immigrants create a better tomorrow for the future of children...

(confused silence)

We are going to fix all of this over the next year and here is how I am going to do it:

(applause)

I’m putting a freeze on all domestic spending for the next three years. The deficit is at an all time high due to an unprecedented and reckless amount of spending, and we must put a stop to it. For too long Washington has been throwing money around as if it were just that *snap* easy to print, and those who are responsible must be held accountable. My staff and I will be going over George Bush’s economic record right down to his personal checkbook to find out where all this money has gone.

If Americans are going to be on top again we must fix the education system. To that end I am calling for a 6% increase in Education spending domestically. This will create much needed jobs at both the teaching and administration levels, and represent a huge increase in government education contracts. I am also introducing a brand new idea that I came up with… well, me and the Democratic members of congress that are up for re-election this year – they helped me on it, so remember that. Anyway, we’re going to start Charter Schools all over the country. This will introduce competition in education, just like in business.

And speaking of business, some CEOs seem to be under the impression that I am against big business. I want to be perfectly clear on this: nothing could be further from the truth.

JOE WILSON: You lie!

(loud murmur and applause from all but Pelosi and Biden)

BARACK OBAMA: The caps on CEO wages that I am endorsing are for your own good. With that your compensation is tied to stock market value through stock bonuses and buy-backs, rather than the long term value of the company and its product. This way the economy turns around faster on paper and you get a bigger piece of the pie through Wall Street manipulation. Good for you. Good for stockholders. Good for my administration. Good for everybody.

During this time of economic hardship it seems that prices on commodities are rising without any logical reason. Oil fluctuates daily though the supply and refining capacities remain either constant or on the rise. This is due to the health care situation in this country. I want congress to buckle down and get something passed before Novemb- uh, before we lose the momentum needed to bring about what all of the Americans who can’t afford it want.

As you all know, recently the Supreme Court ruled that corporations and other far right interest groups will be able to make movies that send messages to the voters. This decision could very well be used to try to discredit the health care reform that we are working so hard on, or our initiatives to reign in out of control business in America. That is why I am taking steps to dampen the effect of this ruling against the American voice. I am appointing Michael Moore as the Czar of Media Messaging.

Finally, some in the media have suggested that I did not respond adequately to the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound commercial airliner in December. I want to be clear on this: nothing could be further from the truth. And I really don’t think these hate-mongers represent the best of America. To show just how wrong they are I am announcing a new initiative to battle terrorism.

Thanks to some family ties on my father’s side, we will be taking over all administrative duties of Al-Qaeda starting immediately. This will be a three-pronged approach. First, we have determined that Al-Qaeda Afghanistan, where we have made great strides militarily, is just too big to fail. So, starting now we will be funneling monies from the pirates in Somalia and terrorist cells in other parts of the Middle East and redistributing it to those in the hills of Afghanistan. We call this the Terrorist Activity Realignment Plan. This will keep a concentration of terrorists in Afghanistan, thus giving the US military a more manageable area of operations where they can continue to keep their performance numbers up.

Second, we are going to offer all terrorists employment through their local governments. These jobs will include everything from repairing road surfaces damaged through wars and years of neglect, to damaging road surfaces to ensure continued employment. These will be stable, government jobs. It is time to get them off the battlefield and onto the public payroll.

And finally, in order to win the terrorists loyalty and divert their attention away from the fact that we are trying to destroy their way of life and turn their nations into the picture we have in our minds, we are going to offer them universal healthcare. We will be able to raise the money for this by taxing their income – from those government jobs we are setting up – at a 50 to 60 % rate. Actually, I really don’t know how much it will be – we’ll figure that out after the fact. But no matter what it will buy their loyalty and bankrupt their operations.

PELOSI: Uh, Mr. President… doesn’t that seem a bit far-fetched? I mean, they’ll never go for it.

BARACK OBAMA: You’d be surprised, Nancy. You'd be surprised.

(room fills with maniacal laughter)

WEAK END REVIEW

I haven't posted in a while and I'm doing this over my lunch break, so it's liable to be rather weak.  I apologize to all of my adoring fans.  Not much time to insert videos and what not, so please follow the links herein.  It's been quite busy here, lately.  Thank you all for your prayers for the quick recovery of my wife after her surgery.  We really thank you and she is doing fine.  Please now pray for my truck which is not doing quite as well, but then, it's got a lot more miles on it than... uh, I better stop right there.

ELECTION RESULTS!

A full 20% of the populace came out to tell the world just what they think about how things are going. City Councilman and future indictee William Bell has been elected the new Mayor of Birmingham after beating attorney Patrick "I Didn't Approve That Video" Cooper by more than 3,000 votes in a run-off from an election in which Bell lost to Cooper by 15% of the vote.  That's Birmingham Mathematics, folks.  Although I am not allowed to vote in the election, I would have gone for the lawyer due to financial reasons: it'd be cheaper in the long run to have a mayor that could defend himself.

A KENNEDY DOES SOMETHING POSITIVE

Who'd have thunk Ted Kennedy would turn out to be the shining star in the family?  A great big EDWARD THANK YOU goes out to the great big fat scum for dying when he did. His brother John's death brought about LBJ and the worst economic pipe bomb to hit this country since TARP (or is that the other way around?).  His brother Robert's death paved the way for Hillary Clinton to become a Senator (for the purposes of this article it did!).  And John John's death/suicide flight/double murder eclipsed the passing of John Edward Long, an Alabamian with more than 7 years flying time - a world record likely to never be broken.

But thanks to Ted "Can I Give You A Lift" Kennedy, healthcare reform, as Obama knows it, may be dead thanks to Scott Brown's win in Massachusetts.  (By the way, Mississippi is a much better state than Massachusetts... because it's easier to remember how to spell. "M-A-S-S, A-C-H... aww!)  Brown will presumably go right along party lines and vote against healthcare reform, denying the Democrats the 60 votes they need to railroad the American taxpayer.  Pundits are projectile vomiting theories as to why he won. Here're the only two reasons you need to know:

1. The American voter rarely allows one party to control the White House, House, and Senate for very long

2. Americans don't like it when politicians tell them, "We don't care what you think, we're doing it anyway."

Nancy Pelosi has already started making excuses stating that she doesn't think the House has the votes to pass legislation.  I guess this election was transparent enough for her.

THE MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS OF THE YEAR!

Jay Leno will be taking back over The Tonight Show. *yawn*  What that means is that Conan O'Brien is now out of a job. There have been a lot of suggestions on just what he could do for a living after he's spent all of the $45 million severance package on hair gel.  I have the best solution, one that will make everyone happy: he should campaign with Sarah Palin... as her vice-president (after all, his ratings are pretty low). It's perfect.  He's already got the sympathy of the American people.  He's a redhead and Irish, so he's got the whole minority thing going for him.  He's practically poor (compared to other late night talk show hosts).  He's unemployed.  And who knows better than he how cruel and inhumane Corporate America can be?  I think he's got a real chance.  Plus, how cool would a State of the Union Address written by Conan O'Brien be?

AIRless AMERICA

It's funny... I make a disparaging remark about Al Franken and his talk show last week, Air America - the radio network created specifically so liberals could get on the air - dies this week.  "MSNBC... CNN..... NPR... American Idol... Barbara Streisand." Again, many liberal excuses are being made for it's failure:

"the very difficult economic environment has had a significant impact on Air America's business. This past year has seen a `perfect storm' in the media industry generally" - NBC can afford to pay a guy $45 million not to be on the air

"painstaking search for new investors... ultimately fell short." - I guess you were too successful at motivating voters to Vote for Change in '08

SO OLD SHE'LL MAKE YER HEAD SPIN

For my buddy Jesse, Linda Blair is 137 years old today.  I don't think this is a current photo, but again, it's for my buddy Jesse.










AND ONE FOR THE LADIES

Strike another success for Equal Rights: The country's first legal gigolo starts work in  Nevada this weekend.  He's taking appointments, ladies.  "Markus," the self-proclaimed Rosa Parks of prostitution, is a college dropout, likes working out, enjoys casual heterosexual rendezvous, and long walks on the beach... as long as he's getting paid for them.  Looks like Obama has those employment figures on the rise! (Uh, no pun intended, Markus.)

Ku Klux Klan to Back Health Care Reform!

Representatives of the KKK have come forward today to announce the organization will be supporting the Democrat-backed Health Care Reform initiatives. This surprising announcement comes just hours after the Census Bureau released figures revealing that, given current U.S. infant mortality rates, white children will be a minority by 2023, with the overall Hispanic population ballooning to 28% within two decades.

"This is despert times," drawled Oral 'Mud' Slippins, Dragon of KKK Local 23. "Dey calls for despert maysures. If'n the guv'mint starts ta payin' fer abortions, maybe it'll cut down on all of dem Mesican babies being' borned."

This begs the question: Could there be stranger bed fellows than David Duke and Barack Obama?

ALUMINUM HAT WARNING

The Centers for Disease Control has announced that 800,000 doses of H1N1 Vaccine have been recalled., but states there is no health risk posed to anyone who has been inoculated. There is nothing to worry about; the government is still protecting you. The recalled doses merely did not contain enough Sodium Pentothal.

HELTHКAЯE ЯEFORM Update

Progress in Senate Democratic health care talks

That's the headline from Yahoo! News this morning. It banners an Associated Press story written by Erica Werner. The article centers on the Democrats backing down from a proposed government-run insurance program, or Public Option, in order to gain key support in the Senate Healthcare Reform Bill. Hmm. This tactic seems familiar. Where was I forewarned of it? Oh, yes... now I remember:

This is not a “public option.” This is the government setting prices and packages throughout the industry, listing it for you, and letting you “choose” which option you want. In other words, a fascist health care system. The Democrats will have appeared to have backed way off of their demands and the Republicans will have appeared to have saved face. And all of us will be reaping the… well, I’ll let you characterize the results any way you wish.

You may remember that, too.  It was from the end of my Helthkare Яeform (Part 7) post. I predicted it. It's right there. Read it.

But this post isn't about my own self-aggrandizement (well, maybe a little). I want to bring your attention to a sentence in the seventh paragraph of this AP article:

New purchasing marketplaces called exchanges would make it easier for small businesses and people without government or employer coverage to shop for health insurance, and onerous insurance company practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions would be banned.

Did you catch that?  The "onerous" practice? Isn't this a tad editorial in nature? I will tell you straight out that this blog is most certainly slanted in one direction - MINE! But I make no claims to the contrary. The reader is free to recognize the truth or to disagree with me. But this article is from the Associated Press! Should it not be objective?

The truth is that I am not surprised to see it. I have actually fired off letters to the AP complaining about the poor quality of their writing in not only fact reporting but basic grammar. Pointless to do so, I know... but it allows me to complain that nothing is going to improve. It will only get worse, and here's why:

News reporting is not a lucrative industry.  With the number of cable stations and online outlets, news organizations have less and less money every year to spend on reporters. As a result, most of the reporters you see today are young, blond girls. (I know nothing about Erica Werner specifically, other than the fact that she is apparently incapable of objective reporting.) It is no coincidence that they look very much like the girl dancing in the lower corner of your screen saying something like, "At Adult Playground you can watch me as we chat online and..." These reporterettes are not hired because of their abilities... they are hired for their looks.

I know this sounds sexist, but I've been there and seen it. Sour grapes? Nope. I didn't enjoy my time in news organizations because of their unwillingness to dig deep and risk ticking off politicians (probably a good idea if Federal dollars end up being used to bailout - read: take over - large newspapers). So there's no sour grapes. I just hate seeing quality plummet. (One can be good looking AND smart... ehem. The issue here is the 'and.')

The only solution we have is to do it ourselves. My blog is more of an editorial page, no doubt. But what blogs have you seen that you feel deliver objective information? (Don't bother submitting Wikipedia, please.) Please comment with links to information blogs you enjoy. It might be your own. It might be Matt Drudge's, or whomever.

I want to gather a list of them, go through and find ones that dig for information, and provide that list for you to bookmark. Sort of a morning reading list. Instead of relying on the reporterette who interviews one professor at Berkley and suddenly becomes an expert on Global Warming, let's identify those individuals out there who have a passion for the issues that affect our lives. Let's dig into their heads and resources, and come up with a digest of credible, detailed, and objective sources.

Anyone game? Put your links in a comment, or email them to me if you'd prefer.

It's All Up In The Air

As President Obama prepares for a mass bowing in Capenhagen, the Environmental Protection Agency is announcing today its opinion that heat-trapping greenhouse gases are endangering people's health.  This is in response to the Supreme Court's previous ruling that an endangerment declaration must exist before the EPA can begin regulating factories under the Clean Air Act.  Yes, you read that correctly: before the EPA can regulate business, it must only claim that business is hurting people.

This move will certainly help Barack Obama in his effort to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations by showing the world that America can control its dogs. For anyone thinking this is about climate change (man-made or not), take a look back at the old Kyoto Protocol, which we were prudent enough not to ratify.  (This will not, I fear, be the case this go around.):

unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.html

Check especially Article 11(3) and Article 22(2).

The former reveals monies will flow from "developed" countries to "developing" countries. That second group includes many of the same countries accused by the U.N. of gross human rights abuses. Hmmm.

Article 22, with its "vice versa" tag, means that groups like the E.U. will vote for ALL of Europe, and it will do so with that many votes. (Sorry if any member state disagrees with the E.U.) It also means that ANY regional economic group (let's say, African Union?) would get more votes than an economy the size of the U.S. (1 vote). From where does the money flow, and where does it go?

Or, to be less U.S.-centric, there are 27 members of the E.U. There are 53 countries in Africa. What if there was an African Union? Do you think, with that disparity of voting power, any money would flow FROM Africa TO Europe?


So, the next time you hear how terribly the United States is destroying the world and how critical it is for us to join international "pollution" treaties, ask yourself what it all means as you look at pictures like these:

 

 

H1N1 Vaccine Question

The CDC has been telling us that the H1N1 Virus is going to kill everyone on the planet for a little over a YEAR now.  So far, they've only been able to get enough vaccine manufactured to protect 1 out of 100 old people and babies; the rest of us are left out in the cold.

The University of Alabama won the 2009 SEC Championship by beating the Florida Gators on Saturday, 32-13.  In less than 48 hours enough memorabilia has been manufactured to outfit every man, woman, and child on earth with a "2009 SEC CHAMPS - Roll, Tide, Roll!" hat, shirt, and license plate frame.

My Question:

If health care is going to be taken over, would we not be better off leaving it in the hands of Nick Saban?

HELTHКAЯE ЯEFORM (Part 9)

THE GREATEST OFFER ON EARTH!!!

Don't wait! Sign up NOW!

Announcing the formation of the Home Appliance Cooperative. From this day forward you will never again have to worry about having to wash your dishes by hand, eat your bread untoasted, or heat your dinner on the stove. Sign up now and you will be part of the program. Here's how it works:

Each member will pay into the Home Appliance Cooperative a low monthly fee. This money will be pooled into a central account, so it is important that everyone participate. Anyone in your neighborhood who is not a member will be fined and that money will sift down into the account.

In the event that any member's appliance goes out, the Cooperative will repair or replace said appliance free of charge, immediately. Of course, there may be a little delay due to processing and determining which affected appliances get seen to first, but the Cooperative will have a system in place that will look at keeping the system as efficient as is likely given the complexity of the problem and nature of the issues involved and other things you really probably wouldn't understand and don't really need to know about.

Let it be known that all members of the Cooperative will pay the same monthly fee, regardless of the quality or age of their appliances. Of course, members who earn more than $500,000 per year will be subject to a small surcharge.

No one will be denied membership based upon the condition or age of their appliances, or their personal history of appliance failure.

Pre-existing conditions are not a factor for membership. This means that even if your appliances are very old, have had multiple repairs in the past, or have recently gone completely out, you are free to join the Cooperative at the standard membership fee; we will replace/repair those appliances.

There will be a governing board over all similar cooperatives. You do not have to remain with any particular cooperative for a set amount of time. For instance, if your stove goes kaput and you then join the Home Appliance Cooperative, your stove will then be replaced. You have no obligation to remain with that particular cooperative, even if you have only made one monthly membership fee payment. The membership fees of the other members of that cooperative will cover the cost of your appliance. You are free to go on to the Cooperative of Home Appliances, or any one of the many regulated private cooperatives, or you may choose the public option, GAC, although the membership fees for it are a bit higher.

And don't worry if this sounds more like a pyramid scheme than a cooperative; it's not insurance, either.

PS: My brother-in-law happens to sell home appliances, so all cooperative appliance purchases will be made from Chip's Home Appliances & Charity Bingo Hall. Chip assures me he will offer the best prices and highest quality... trust us.

HELTHКAЯE ЯEFORM (Part 8)

Ignoring all pleas and protests to the contrary, the House formally known as 'of Representatives' has passed a 1990-page Healthcare Reform Bill, ready for Senate approval. The final vote was 220-215, with 39 Democrats voting against it, and only one Republican voting for the bill. With numbers like that it is clear Nancy Pelosi is doing everything in her power to make sure the whole of the American public is behind this, and that nothing is ramrodded through Congress against the will of We the People...

I'll cover some of the highlights of the bill over the next few days, but for now, let's try to get a handle on this price tag: $1.2 trillion or, if you're not into the whole brevity thing, $1,200,000,000,000.00.

How much is that, really? What is that number? Well, it's what is going to have to be spent on this health care overhaul. It's the amount that is going to be added to our national debt; therefore, it's what your kids will be repaying. Remember those 7th graders from Part 7? Yeah, they're the ones who will have to pay. Well, just how much is $1,200,000,000,000.00? Good question. Let's put it into perspective.

Imagine that you were to be paid $1.00 for every second of the day. One dollar per second. In one minute you'd have earned $60.00. Pretty sweet, huh? In an hour you'd have earned $3,600.00. Really sweet, right? Let's expand that same rate on out a little further:

Day = $86,400
Week = $604,800
Month = $2,600,640
Year = $31,536,000

Wow! Now I would take that! Who wouldn't? Heck, that's about 1.5 times the $19 million that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is worth. It's hard to even imagine that much money, but that's what you would have if someone paid you $1.00 for every single second of the year. Enough to buy any car you wanted. A mansion. Jewelry. Servants. A second iPhone. Anything.

And if you paid that much - $1 for every single second of the year - toward that Health Care Bill? Why, you'd have it paid off in just 38,452 years.

38,452 years.

Say that out loud: Thirty-eight thousand, four hundred and fifty two years. Go on, say it again. In fact, say it out loud to your 7th grader: Thirty-eight thousand, four hundred and fifty two years.

I know, that's pretty dramatic. Nobody gets paid a buck a second. Well, that's not completely true. The apolitical Tiger Woods makes a little over $3 dollars a second, and Barack Obama's campaign manager Oprah Winfrey rakes in $8.72 per second. (It would take Oprah a mere 4,364 years to pay off the Health Care Reform Bill.)

Of course, statistics suggest that your little middle-schooler, as talented as he/she is, will not grow up to be either the greatest golfer or the biggest gabber of all time. In fact, statistically speaking, he/she will grow up to make $18.60 per hour, during the work week. That comes out to a yearly salary of $38,390.40. Not bad, but not quite enough to cover the $1.2 trillion tab in one lifetime. In fact, it will take him/her 31-million, 257-thousand, 814 and one-half years to pay off the House's health care reform. Go ahead and say that one out loud:

31,257,814 and 1/2 years.

Before you point out that it's the whole of the population and not just one person that will be paying the tab, consider that at the average salary it will take 400,177 lifetimes to pay it off, if every single cent of salary were put toward it. But given that the average worker doesn't put in a full 78.11 years worth of 40-hour weeks, but more like about 45 years worth, the total comes to around 700,000 lifetimes. Do the math... I've given you the links. Now, who works a lifetime with absolutely no personal gain, all of the fruits of their labor going to someone else? Slaves, that's who. It looks as though this bill will create the equivalent of three-quarters of a million slaves in this country. Which ones will it be? Mostly, the ones not even old enough to vote yet.

There are those who will pooh-pooh this blog, claiming that this country can't afford NOT to pass health care reform legislation. Now, I'm just a regular Joe, working a job and raising a family. My wife is a regular Jane doing the same. With the money from our two jobs we often use the phrase, "How are we going to afford...?" As in:

How are we going to afford Christmas presents for the kids?
How are we going to afford that repair on the truck?
How are we going to afford braces?
How are we going to afford propane for the winter?
How are we going to afford groceries next week?

We use those phrases often, but I can't remember one single time in my LIFE that I've ever used the phrase, "We can't afford NOT to..." I just can't understand that mentality, especially when talking about $1.2 trillion of our children's money.

Maybe I could understand it if I was worth $19 million.

Hire Education

The College Board has released its annual report on the cost of a college education in America. It turns out, again, that a higher education is just that - higher... in cost. This year the average tuition increase is 6.5% for in-state four-year public college programs, and 4.4% for private institutions. And what do you, as parents, get in return for the hard-earned dollars you pour into these institutions? (Watch this where you can turn up the volume and listen.)


Mom...Dad... this is what you are getting for your money.

And a quick aside to Suzie Student:

Shut up, sit down, and listen. You are a student. No matter what you may think, you do not have any of the answers. You likely don't even know that the G-20 isn't a move in Battleship. You will one day look back on this video with embarrassment. Maybe you shouldn't have posted it on the internet.

That is what you are getting for the tens of thousands of dollars you are spending on expanding your child's mind. In more cases than not your little one is being instructed by a professor who is qualified to do nothing other than instruct the unknowing. If you've engaged in continuing education in your profession you likely have looked back at your college professors and realized just how unknowledgeable they really were. Well, it ain't getting any better. But we know that.

Still, a child has to have an education. Now, more than ever. Almost all career level jobs out there require a four-year degree, and the ones that don't come with experience requirements that trump anyone under the age of 147 from qualifying. The time spent in college is looked at only as evidence that the applicant completes what he or she starts. A headhunter once informed me that 80% of the people he places are working in fields totally unrelated to their major course of study. Let's take a look at some of those degrees:

Retail Floristry
Adventure Recreation
Physical Education
Peace Studies
Angling

And a thousand other hobbies disguising themselves as college degree curricula. Kids, if it's something other people learn to do on the weekends as a distraction from work, you needn't spend your parents' retirement learning it from a college professor. There are precisely four real jobs in the world where the degrees above might serve you... and three of them are already taken.

Also, when choosing a major, a good rule of thumb is that the more words there are in the title of the degree (i.e.: Psychology of Ancient Greek Mythology as it Relates to Post-Industrial Revolution Arkansas) the fewer jobs there are related to the degree. Keep to degrees with short titles like Finance, but not too short like Dance. And stay away from degrees that preclude required conditions. Philanthropy comes to mind. This is essentially teaching you how to give away money. If you have your heart set on being a philanthropist I'd suggest you start by building a railroad, steel conglomerate, or computer company. Just an idea.

Where do all of these major courses of study come from? Obviously from schools, but why? For years primary and secondary schools have been convincing everyone - students and business leaders alike - that everyone needs a college degree. In an effort to attract everyone colleges have offered more and more varied degree choices, watering them down to the point that a four-year degree is now looked at by the business world as merely an attendance record... a $100,000 attendance record!

When I was in television most of our younger photojournalists had complete four-year photojournalism degrees that held no value whatsoever. Many of them did not know how to use a tripod correctly, set up a shot at all, or even care for a $10,000 piece of equipment... or they didn't care. These guys were making less than twice minimum wage, yet carrying a $15- to $20,000 college loan debt. This resulted in an understandably sour attitude. Most of them, to my knowledge, left the industry. Imagine if they had started training directly out of high school: a $10,000 camera would be an object of extreme value, nearly twice minimum wage would be more than they had ever earned in their lives, they would have no student loan to pay off, and the experienced photojournalists that actually work in television could train them to be real photojournalists. Money would be saved and the on-the-job training would represent actual value.

So why are colleges skewing us away from training systems with real value and toward degree plans that are irrelevant to, in some cases, anything? The College Board itself points out the reason: "More than $168 billion in financial aid is available to students and their families."

There is a lot of talk about the rising price of equipment and facilities, the cost of quality instructors, the improvement in teaching aids and materials, and the overall rise in college standards. With the offering of classes like Philosophy and Star Trek, I'm not so sure I buy that excuse. Over the last ten years or so Pell Grants have increase 123% and Federal Student Loans have increased 107%. Over that same time period the average rise in tuition prices has been only about 22%. That's leaving a lot of federal money on the table. So where do you think future trends will take us?

The fact is college prices have increased because colleges have a way to charge the federal government. And where does that federal money come from? Your wallet. And when students default on their federal loans (do we need a graph to predict the future trend in that?), where does the money come from to refill the coffers you initially filled? Your wallet. With, by some claims, $180 billion in federal money on the table, are colleges going to decrease tuitions anytime soon? Is it in colleges' best interests to bring in more students? Will they have to water degree programs down even more to attract and retain those students? And if everyone in the country has a college degree, will there be much value to any one of them?

Now, am I suggesting that anyone drop out or forego college? No! The reality is you need that degree to get a job. The national average unemployment rate is currently around 9.8%. If you have a four-year degree it's more like 2.6%. If you just hold a high school diploma you are twice as likely to be out of a job, and if you dropped out of high school you are four times more likely to be unemployed. SO STAY IN SCHOOL! It is an investment in your future.

But to everyone, students, parents, and business leaders alike - we need to do some serious evaluation of the post-secondary education system in this country.

Students
Back in the 90s nutty people invested in Beanie Babies, thinking they'd resell them at such a markup that they'd retire off the profits. Ask yourself: is my degree plan a Beanie Baby?




Parents
Remember this phrase: Parents don't let kids major in liberal arts.

Employers
Do you want this guy training your future director of marketing?






And Taxpayers
With Federal money affecting college tuition prices as it is, what do you think is going to happen when it gets a hold of health care?

HELTHКAЯE ЯEFORM (Part 7)

Continuing our discussion of Helthkare Яeform, I want to pick up where we left off yesterday: namely, concerning the government's inability to compete in any way with the private sector. I promised that I would provide you with a number of quotes taken directly from the guy overseeing our current $1.42 trillion deficit, and so I am.

It’s not that private sector workers are so much smarter than government employees (except in the case of that girl I had to deal with at the DMV), it’s that they are better motivated. Every business expense a private sector employee incurs comes from the same place as their potential earnings. The more they improve the end product, the more revenue the company brings in, and the more benefits said employee may enjoy. With a government employee: “Here’s some taxpayer money. Spend it all or we will give you less next year. Oh, and nobody can fire you.” The math is fairly simple.

And yet even the President seems to have a hard time with this arithmetic. He’s made some rather… well, remarkable statements, mathematically speaking:

We will pass reform that lowers cost, promotes choice, and provides coverage that every American can count on. And we will do it this year.

It will limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay for your medical costs out of your own pocket.

No insurance company will be allowed to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition.

I have also pledged that health insurance reform will not add to our deficit over the next decade -- and I mean it.

Hmm. I’m going through this scenario over and over and just can’t come up with the answer he’s claiming. Washington is going to create a system that provides coverage to every American – coverage we can count on – even to the 47 million Americans that currently don’t have insurance coverage? And the government is going to lower costs while doing this? This system is going to be affordable to all of us, won’t put small companies or the insurance industry out of business, and is going to promote choice? It’s going to do all of this but not increase the deficit? Not at all? Really, Mr. President? Oh, I see that you did include ‘over the next decade.’

But still, that’s a pretty tall order, even if Congress does find a way to put off some costs until the current crop of seventh graders in this country hits the workforce. There must be something else to this math that Obama is using. Perhaps more quotes will help us out:

It will keep government out of health care decisions, giving you the option to keep your insurance if you're happy with it.

Actually, I have that option now, without government involvement. Kinda sounds like the Mafia protecting my business from being burned to the ground by the Mafia.

This isn't about me. I have great health insurance, and so does every Member of Congress.

That’s right. It’s not about you or the members of Congress. It's about today’s seventh graders, the ones that will get hit with the bill a decade from now. But still I am not seeing the math. How about one more quote… looks like this one may be for you old-timers, lest you think my theory about reform being aimed at eliminating Medicare and Medicaid is somehow misguided:

And it's about the fact that the biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid. So let me be clear: if we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit.

Seems pretty clear to me. How about to you, Herman?

This is a key clue to the Democrats’ position on a public insurance plan. They have no real desire for one… they are trying to get rid of those already in place to pay for this government control of the health care industry. But if you are going to negotiate with a party that fears (publicly, at least) the notion of ‘socialized medicine,’ are you going to start from the position of keeping the insurance industry privatized but controlled? No. You are going to present a hard-lined position that you will appear to back away from for the sake of compromise. Check out this little gem from July 22, 2009:

If you don't have health insurance, or are a small business looking to cover your employees, you'll be able to choose a quality, affordable health plan through a health insurance exchange -- a marketplace that promotes choice and competition.

This is not a “public option.” This is the government setting prices and packages throughout the industry, listing it for you, and letting you “choose” which option you want. In other words, a fascist health care system. The Democrats will have appeared to have backed way off of their demands and the Republicans will have appeared to have saved face. And all of us will be reaping the… well, I’ll let you characterize the results any way you wish.

HELTHКAЯE ЯEFORM (Part 6)

This is a continuation of a series, the fifth part of which can be found here. If you are like me and can't remember where you put your keys or what your middle name is, please go back and scan over it before continuing.

Let’s step inside the boardroom with the insurance industry leaders and the government health care reform bureaucrat:
“So, you want us to maintain health insurance plans for our clients’ employees even after retirement?”

“Yes, for this plan to work everyone will need to be insured, and why should an employee who’s had the same plan for twenty years need to go out and switch it just because he retires? Employers will need to offer these plans after retirement.”

“But surely we can increase the premiums after they are no longer with the company and enjoying the benefits of being part of a large group?”

“No, that would be contrary to keeping health coverage affordable. Don’t worry… the employer will still be paying his portion. You can increase his expense if you’d like.”

“But isn’t part of the government’s complaint that health insurance premiums are already too high. Isn’t this because companies pass the costs on to their employees?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when it comes up… if it ever does.”

“It says here that we will be required to offer insurance policies to everyone, regardless of previous health conditions.”

“That’s correct. As I stated, in order for the plan to work everyone must be insured.”

“Surely we will be able to charge higher premiums to someone who knowingly comes to us with, say, Stage III cancer or diabetes or heart disease? Their medical expenses are going to be astronomically higher than a healthy 22-year old single male’s.”

“No, the plan protects people from those types of discriminatory practices. That’s why we’ve had to step in for reform. The people demand it.”

“So we are, by law, hereby required to offer everyone health care insurance at the same rate, regardless of current or previous health conditions, regardless of whether they are part of a larger group or not, and provide said coverage for them from birth until death?”

“In a word, yes. It’s what’s fair… everyone deserves health care coverage.”

“But we can’t discriminate between healthy and ill and we can’t raise our rates or penalties?”

“Correct. In a free society everyone deserves equal access to life… and thus, health care insurance.”

“And just how are we supposed to stay in business?”

“I’m not an expert on matters of profit. That’s your job. We are here merely for the public good, not the insurance industry. Do you really want the government to start telling you how to run your business?”


With the help of one Republican vote (Olympia Snowe – ME) they are well on their way. That vote by Olympia Snowe assured the passage of a health care expansion bill through the Senate Finance Committee, and provided the Democrat Party the example of bipartisan capitulation… uh, cooperation they needed to turn the media back on to Helthkare Яeform. More about the meaning of Republican Olympia Snowe’s vote and others like it later.

I know that to many of you the example above seems rather far-fetched. You will hear politicians and reporters swear that those points are not in the health care reform bills and that this scenario could never happen. Do not be fooled by such rhetoric. Ask yourself questions, seek the answers, and you will see through this kaleidoscope called reform.

The big source of contention at this point, between and amongst the parties, is whether or not there will be a publicly funded, government run insurance plan available to compete against the insurance industry and keep it in check. In general, the Democrat Party, less the so-called Blue Dogs, believes there should be, while the Republican Party, again, in general, believes there should not be such an option. Let’s take a quick look at the idea regardless of whether or not it will happen.

The idea of government-run anything competing against the private sector is ludicrous. I’ll never forget a government class I took at Texas A&M, a very conservative school. The professor (I’ll call her Mrs. Hinkley) wore her hair in what my wife informs me is a short flip. This caused Mrs. Hinkley to look reminiscent of The Flying Nun, which was not conducive to maintaining my concentration. So, it was understandable that one day I really thought I misheard her in class. In fact, what I thought she said was so far removed from common sense, let alone empirical evidence to the contrary, that I couldn’t take another note that day… I sat and stared at my notes in disbelief.

That was in my uniformed days, and we were encouraged not to make any “scenes” in class, so I waited to see The Professor in her office later that afternoon. “I know that I misheard you so I came here for clarification. What I wrote down was, ‘The government handles only those duties that the private sector tried to fulfill and failed.’ Now, what was it that you really said?” That’s what I asked her, right there in her office.


“You heard me correctly.”

“Um… (pregnant pause) what… um… what did you mean (pause) exactly?”

“Just what I said. The government does those things that the private sector has failed at.”

“Surely you can’t be serious? What on earth could the… the private sector can… with failures in the government… how can you possibly defend such a position? Can you name one thing the government does better than the private sector?”

“Education.”

I didn’t mean to laugh in her face, and did a decent job of pretending to choke on a grasshopper. “Education? Private schools versus public schools? You can’t be serious.” Remembering that she was employed by a state university, I decided to change tack. “Can you name another?”

“The mail service.”

“‘When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight?’ The mail service is a government-enforced monopoly. Currier companies in New York have been shut down for delivering letter-sized-”

“Did you have any further questions… I’m very busy.”

I got a B in that course. A government course! Me!

The fact is the government can’t compete in anything. If there’s any need to explore the differences in education you clearly did not attend private school. Mail delivery? In 230+ years the biggest innovation the US Postal Service has managed to come up with is Saturday delivery… which they continually try to get rid of! My blog host just sent this 1,281 word paper to you in… well, we don’t even talk about transmission times anymore – that’s how fast. This technology was originally developed 30 years ago by Xerox, a private company. And the government is going to compete? The people want the government to run the health care industry?

Seriously, though, pick anything you want. Defense? Weapons are purchased through contracts with private companies. Companies that make airplanes for visiting your grandmother in Boca Rotan. Inoculations? Vaccinations developed and manufactured by private companies, purchased through contract with your tax dollars. Transportation, entertainment, food preparation, hospitals – I know that many in favor of health care reform like to claim that veterans are very pleased with the V. A. and that seniors are pleased with Medicare based upon the number that use them, but it's hard to differentiate between satisfaction and complacency in the absence of options.


Tune in for tomorrow's continuation when I let guest blogger Barack Obama fill in while I go to a heritage festival and car show (didn't I mention I was from the south?) Actually, he won't be writing it, but I have included a number of quotes from him. Tune in!